Mike McConkey is a master multitasker.
He’s the rink manager for the Schenectady County Ice Rink in Scotia, but he said his title doesn’t mean much.
I do a little bit of everything, he said. `I take care of rentals, I scrub the toilets, I schedule events and I keep the rink clean.`
The rink is owned by Schenectady County, but McConkey runs the rink for the Schenectady Youth Hockey Association, who has a contract with the county to manage the rink.
According to McConkey, the most important part of his job is taking the time to get to know his regular customers.
`I think the key to our success here is that the programs we’re running are geared for the people who are coming here regularly,` he said. `We get to know who uses the rink and we do our best to accommodate them.`
McConkey said he’s opened the rink as early as 5:30 a.m. for figure skaters to work on their routines and for adult hockey groups who want to get in a little skating before they have to go in to the office.
The rink is a popular hangout for hockey players young and old. It’s the home of the Niskayuna/Schenectady High and Mohonasen/Schalmont combined hockey teams and serves as a practice facility for the Oneonta State’s hockey team. McConkey also said the rink is home of the popular Retired Old Boys (R.O.B.) over-40 hockey program, which he said brings approximately $30,000 in revenue to the facility each year.
And the hockey action doesn’t stop when the winter season comes to a close. The rink has garnered local attention for its spring and summer programs, especially their Stick and Puck Open Hockey program, which is open to hockey players and skaters of all levels in the spring and summer.
The facility also features a year-round public skate seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday; 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Jim Hibbard, of Clinton, drove 89 miles to practice an ice dancing routine with his friend Cheryl Elton, of Queensbury, during a public skate on Friday, Feb. 1.
Hibbard said it was his first trip to the facility but that he thought the ice was in good condition.
`Mike really keeps the ice clean. It’s always excellent,` said Elton, who frequents the rink in the spring when other rinks close down for the season.
‘There aren’t a lot of adult ice dancers, and this was a convenient meeting spot for the both of us.`
The Schenectady County Ice Rink, which opened in 2000, had its most successful financial year in 2007, bringing in approximately $336,000 in revenue. County officials said the rink also saw an increase in the number of skate rentals and in the number of participants in their public skate program.
McConkey said the rink employs two full-time and approximately seven seasonal workers.
County officials said the rink is a testament to good management practices.
`Our goal is to run the County better and more cost efficiently. The ice rink is a great example of this,` said Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature Susan E. Savage, D-Niskayuna. `We have cut costs, increased revenues all the while providing a positive recreational experience for skaters who use the facility year round.“